tokfandomcom-20200215-history
History of technology
See also: Timeline of historic inventions , invented sometime before the 4th millennium BC, is one of the most ubiquitous and important technologies. This detail of the "Standard of Ur", c. 2500 BC., displays a Sumerian }} The history of technology is the history of the of s and techniques and is one of the categories of the . Technology can refer to methods ranging from as simple as to the complex and that has emerged since the 1980s. The term technology comes from the Greek word techne, meaning art and craft, and the word logos, meaning word and speech. It was first used to describe applied arts, but it is now used to described advancements and changes which affect the environment around us. New knowledge has enabled people to create new things, and conversely, many scientific endeavors are made possible by which assist humans in to places they could not previously reach, and by s by which we study nature in more detail than our natural senses allow. Since much of technology is , technical history is connected to the . Since technology uses s, technical history is tightly connected to . From those , technology produces other resources, including technological artifacts used in . affects and is affected by, a society's cultural s. It is a force for and a means to develop and project economic, political, military power and wealth. By period and geography preceded in the history of technology.}} The following is a summary of the history of technology by time period and geography: * ( ) 2.5 million years ago (scrapers; to butcher dead animals) * stone technology 1.6 million years ago (hand axe) * creation and manipulation, used since the , possibly by as early as * ( – modern human anatomy arises, around 200,000 years ago.) * possibly 170,000 years ago. * s, used by , possibly . * s c. 25,000 BC * of animals, c. 15,000 BC * , c. 9th millennium BC * s c. 9th millennium BC * Handmade bricks first used for construction in the Middle East c. 6000 BCE * and c. 4000 BC * c. 4000 BC * c. 4000 BC * s c. 3500 BC * c. 3200 BC * c. 2500 BC * c. 2500 BC * c. 2000 BC * c. 1500 BC * c. 800 BC * ca. 500 BC * c. 400 BC * c. 400 BC * c. 300 BC * first few centuries AD Prehistory Stone Age s}} During most of the – the bulk of the Stone Age – all humans had a lifestyle which involved limited tools and few permanent settlements. The first major technologies were tied to survival, hunting, and food preparation. and weapons, , and were technological developments of major importance during this period. Human ancestors have been using stone and other tools since long before the emergence of approximately 200,000 years ago. The earliest methods of making, known as the "industry", date back to at least 2.3 million years ago, with the earliest direct evidence of tool usage found in within the , dating back to 2.5 million years ago. This era of stone tool use is called the , or "Old stone age", and spans all of human history up to the development of approximately 12,000 years ago. To make a stone tool, a " " of hard stone with specific flaking properties (such as ) was struck with a . This flaking produced sharp edges which could be used as tools, primarily in the form of or . These tools greatly aided the early humans in their lifestyle to perform a variety of tasks including ing carcasses (and breaking bones to get at the ); chopping wood; cracking open nuts; skinning an animal for its , and even forming other tools out of softer materials such as bone and wood. The earliest stone tools were irrelevant, being little more than a fractured rock. In the era, beginning approximately 1.65 million years ago, methods of working these stone into specific shapes, such as s emerged. This early Stone Age is described as the . The , approximately 300,000 years ago, saw the introduction of the , where multiple blades could be rapidly formed from a single core stone. The , beginning approximately 40,000 years ago, saw the introduction of , where a wood, bone, or antler could be used to shape a stone very finely. The end of the last Ice Age about 10,000 years ago is taken as the end point of the and the beginning of the / . The Mesolithic technology included the use of as composite stone tools, along with wood, bone, and antler tools. The later Stone Age, during which the rudiments of agricultural technology were developed, is called the period. During this period, polished s were made from a variety of hard rocks such as , , , and , largely by working exposures as quarries, but later the valuable rocks were pursued by tunneling underground, the first steps in mining technology. The polished axes were used for forest clearance and the establishment of crop farming and were so effective as to remain in use when bronze and iron appeared. These stone axes were used alongside a continued use of stone tools such as a range of , knives, and , as well as tools, made organic materials such as wood, bone, and antler. Stone Age cultures developed and engaged in organized . Stone Age humans developed ocean-worthy technology, leading to across the , across the Indian Ocean to and also across the Pacific Ocean, which required knowledge of the ocean currents, weather patterns, sailing, and . Although Paleolithic cultures left no written records, the shift from nomadic life to settlement and agriculture can be inferred from a range of archaeological evidence. Such evidence includes ancient tools, s, and other , such as the . Human remains also provide direct evidence, both through the examination of bones, and the study of . Scientists and historians have been able to form significant inferences about the lifestyle and culture of various prehistoric peoples, and especially their technology. Ancient Copper and bronze Ages or dagger blade}} Metallic copper occurs on the surface of weathered copper ore deposits and copper was used before copper was known. Copper smelting is believed to have originated when the technology of pottery s allowed sufficiently high temperatures. The concentration of various elements such as arsenic increase with depth in copper ore deposits and smelting of these ores yields , which can be sufficiently work hardened to be suitable for making tools. is an alloy of copper with tin; the latter being found in relatively few deposits globally caused a long time to elapse before true tin bronze to became widespread. (See: ) was a major advance over stone as a material for making tools, both because of its mechanical properties like strength and ductility and because it could be cast in molds to make intricately shaped objects. Bronze significantly advanced shipbuilding technology with better tools and bronze nails. Bronze nails replaced the old method of attaching boards of the hull with cord woven through drilled holes. Better ships enabled long distance trade and the advance of civilization. This technological trend apparently began in the and spread outward over time. These developments were not, and still are not, universal. The does not accurately describe the technology history of groups outside of , and does not apply at all in the case of some isolated populations, such as the , the , and various Amazonian tribes, which still make use of Stone Age technology, and have not developed agricultural or metal technology. Iron Age head made of iron, dating from the Swedish }} Before iron smelting was developed the only iron was obtained from meteorites and is usually identified by having nickel content. was rare and valuable, but was sometimes used to make tools and other implements, such as fish hooks. The involved the adoption of iron technology. It generally replaced bronze and made it possible to produce tools which were stronger, lighter and cheaper to make than bronze equivalents. The raw materials to make iron, such as ore and limestone, are far more abundant than copper and especially tin ores. Consequently, iron was produced in many areas. It was not possible to mass manufacture steel or pure iron because of the high temperatures required. Furnaces could reach melting temperature but the crucibles and molds needed for melting and casting had not been developed. could be produced by bloomery iron to reduce the carbon content in a somewhat controllable way, but steel produced by this method was not homogeneous. In many Eurasian cultures, the Iron Age was the last major step before the development of written language, though again this was not universally the case. In Europe, large s were built either as a refuge in time of war or sometimes as permanent settlements. In some cases, existing forts from the Bronze Age were expanded and enlarged. The pace of land clearance using the more effective iron axes increased, providing more farmland to support the growing population. Egyptians The invented and used many simple machines, such as the to aid construction processes. Egyptian society made significant advances during dynastic periods in areas such as astronomy, mathematics, and medicine. They also made writing medium similar to paper from . Egyptian stone masons used yet unknown methods to cut stone for building monuments. The Egyptians also built ships. Astronomy was used by Egyptian leaders to govern people. Indus Valley The , situated in a resource-rich area, is notable for its early application of city planning and sanitation technologies. Indus Valley construction and architecture, called ' ', suggests a thorough understanding of materials engineering, hydrology, and sanitation. Mesopotamians The peoples of ( ians, , ns, and ns) have been credited with the invention of the , but this is no longer certain. They lived in cities from c. 4000 BC, and developed a sophisticated architecture in mud-brick and stone, including the use of the true arch. The walls of Babylon were so massive they were quoted as a . They developed extensive water systems; canals for transport and irrigation in the alluvial south, and catchment systems stretching for tens of kilometers in the hilly north. Their palaces had sophisticated drainage systems. Writing was invented in Mesopotamia, using the script. Many records on clay tablets and stone inscriptions have survived. These civilizations were early adopters of bronze technologies which they used for tools, weapons and monumental statuary. By 1200 BC they could cast objects 5 m long in a single piece. The Assyrian King (704–681 BC) claims to have invented automatic sluices and to have been the first to use water screws, of up to 30 tons weight, which were cast using two-part clay molds rather than by the 'lost wax' process. The Jerwan Aqueduct (c. 688 BC) is made with stone arches and lined with waterproof concrete. The spanned 800 years. They enabled meticulous astronomers to plot the motions of the planets and to predict eclipses. Chinese The Chinese made many first-known discoveries and developments. Major technological contributions from China include early , es, , , , the double-action piston pump, , water powered blast furnace , the iron , the multi-tube , the wheelbarrow, the parachute, the , the , the , the and . China also developed deep well drilling, which they used to extract brine for making salt. Some of these wells, which were as deep as 900 meters, produced natural gas which was used for evaporating brine. Other Chinese discoveries and inventions from the Medieval period include , , phosphorescent paint, endless power and the clock escapement mechanism. The solid-fuel was invented in China about 1150, nearly 200 years after the invention of (which acted as the rocket's fuel). Decades before the West's age of exploration, the Chinese emperors of the also sent on maritime voyages, some reaching Africa. Greek and engineers were responsible for to existing technology. The , in particular, saw a sharp increase in technological advancement, fostered by a climate of openness to new ideas, the blossoming of a mechanistic philosophy, and the establishment of the and its close association with the adjacent . In contrast to the typically anonymous inventors of earlier ages, ingenious minds such as , , , , and remain known by name to posterity. Ancient Greek innovations were particularly pronounced in mechanical technology, including the ground-breaking invention of the which constituted the first human-devised motive force not to rely on muscle power (besides the ). Apart from their pioneering use of waterpower, Greek inventors were also the first to experiment with wind power (see 's windwheel) and even created the earliest steam engine (the ), opening up entirely new possibilities in harnessing natural forces whose full potential would not be exploited until the . The newly devised right-angled and would become particularly important to the operation of mechanical devices. That is when the age of mechanical devices started. .}} Ancient agriculture, as in any period prior to the modern age the primary mode of production and subsistence, and its irrigation methods, were considerably advanced by the invention and widespread application of a number of previously unknown water-lifting devices, such as the vertical , the compartmented wheel, the water , , the bucket-chain and pot-garland, the , the , the double-action and quite possibly the . In music, the , invented by Ctesibius and subsequently improved, constituted the earliest instance of a . In time-keeping, the introduction of the inflow and its mechanization by the dial and pointer, the application of a and the mechanism far superseded the earlier outflow clepsydra. The famous , a kind of analogous computer working with a , and the both show great refinement in astronomical science. Greek engineers were also the first to devise such as s, suspended ink pots, automatic s, and doors, primarily as toys, which however featured many new useful mechanisms such as the and s. In other fields, ancient Greek inventions include the and the crossbow in warfare, hollow bronze-casting in metallurgy, the for surveying, in infrastructure the , , the , the , and plumbing. In horizontal, vertical and transport, great progress resulted from the invention of the , the and the . Further newly created techniques and items were , the , and s. Roman The developed an intensive and sophisticated agriculture, expanded upon existing iron working technology, created providing for individual ownership, advanced stone masonry technology, advanced (exceeded only in the 19th century), military engineering, civil engineering, spinning and weaving and several different machines like the that helped to increase productivity in many sectors of the Roman economy. Roman engineers were the first to build monumental arches, , , , , s, s and s, vaults and domes on a very large scale across their Empire. Notable Roman inventions include the , and . Because Rome was located on a volcanic peninsula, with sand which contained suitable crystalline grains, the which the Romans formulated was especially durable. Some of their buildings have lasted 2000 years, to the present day. Inca, Maya, and Aztec The engineering skills of the and were great, even by today's standards. An example of this exceptional engineering is the use of pieces weighing upwards of one ton in their stonework placed together so that not even a blade can fit into the cracks. Inca villages used irrigation canals and systems, making agriculture very efficient. While some claim that the Incas were the first inventors of , their agricultural technology was still soil based, if advanced. Though the did not incorporate metallurgy or wheel technology in their architectural constructions, they developed complex writing and astronomical systems, and created beautiful sculptural works in stone and flint. Like the Inca, the Maya also had command of fairly advanced agricultural and construction technology. The Maya are also responsible for creating the first pressurized water system in Mesoamerica, located in the Maya site of . The main contribution of the rule was a system of communications between the conquered cities and the ubiquity of the ingenious agricultural technology of . In , without draft animals for transport (nor, as a result, wheeled vehicles), the roads were designed for travel on foot, just as in the Inca and Mayan civilizations. The Aztec, subsequently to the Maya, inherited many of the technologies and intellectual advancements of their predecessors: the (see ). Medieval to early modern One of the most significant development of the Medieval era was the development of economies where water and wind power were more significant than animal and human muscle power. Most water and wind power was used for milling grain. Water power was also used for blowing air in , pulping rags for paper making and for felting wool. The recorded 5,624 water mills in Great Britain in 1086, being about one per thirty families. East Asia Indian subcontinent Islamic world As earlier empires had done, the Muslim s united in trade large areas that had previously traded little. The conquered sometimes paid lower taxes than in their earlier independence, and ideas spread even more easily than goods. Peace was more frequent than it had been. These conditions fostered improvements in agriculture and other technology as well as in sciences which largely adapted from earlier Greek, Roman and Persian empires, with improvements. Medieval Europe ca. 1386}} While medieval technology has been long depicted as a step backwards in the evolution of Western technology, sometimes willfully so by modern authors intent on denouncing the church as antagonistic to scientific progress (see e.g. ), a generation of medievalists around the American historian of science stressed from the 1940s onwards the innovative character of many medieval techniques. Genuine medieval contributions include for example s, and vertical s. Medieval ingenuity was also displayed in the invention of seemingly inconspicuous items like the or the . In navigation, the foundation to the subsequent was laid by the introduction of pintle-and-gudgeon s, s, the , the horseshoe and the . Significant advances were also made in military technology with the development of , steel s and . The Middle Ages are perhaps best known for their architectural heritage: While the invention of the and gave rise to the high rising , the ubiquitous medieval fortifications gave the era the almost proverbial title of the 'age of castles'. , a 2nd-century Chinese technology, was carried to the Middle East when a group of Chinese papermakers were captured in the 8th century. Papermaking technology was spread to Europe by the . A paper mill was established in Sicily in the 12th century. In Europe the fiber to make pulp for making paper was obtained from linen and cotton rags. credited the spinning wheel with increasing the supply of rags, which led to cheap paper, which was a factor in the development of printing. Renaissance technology used for raising ore, ca. 1556}} Before the development of modern engineering, mathematics was used by artisans and craftsmen, such as s, clock makers, instrument makers and surveyors. Aside from these professions, universities were not believed to have had much practical significance to technology. A standard reference for the state of mechanical arts during the Renaissance is given in the mining engineering treatise (1556), which also contains sections on geology, mining and chemistry. De re metallica was the standard chemistry reference for the next 180 years. Among the water powered mechanical devices in use were , forge hammers, blast bellows, and suction pumps. Due to the casting of cannon, the came into widespread use in France in the mid 15th century. The blast furnace had been used in China since the 4th century BC. The invention of the movable cast metal type , whose pressing mechanism was adapted from an olive screw press, (c. 1441) lead to a tremendous increase in the number of books and the number of titles published. Movable ceramic type had been used in China for a few centuries and woodblock printing dated back even further. The era is marked by such profound technical advancements like , or es. Note books of the Renaissance artist-engineers such as and give a deep insight into the mechanical technology then known and applied. Architects and engineers were inspired by the structures of , and men like created the large dome of as a result. He was awarded one of the first s ever issued in order to protect an ingenious he designed to raise the large masonry stones to the top of the structure. Military technology developed rapidly with the widespread use of the and ever more powerful , as the city-states of Italy were usually in conflict with one another. Powerful families like the were strong patrons of the arts and sciences. spawned the ; science and technology began a cycle of mutual advancement. Age of Exploration An improved sailing ship, the (nau or ), enabled the with the , epitomized by 's . Pioneers like , , and explored the world in search of new trade routes for their goods and contacts with Africa, India and China to shorten the journey compared with traditional routes overland. They produced new maps and charts which enabled following mariners to explore further with greater confidence. Navigation was generally difficult, however, owing to the and the absence of accurate . European powers rediscovered the idea of the , lost since the time of the Ancient Greeks. Pre-Industrial Revolution The , which was invented in 1598, increased a knitter's number of knots per minute from 100 to 1000. Mines were becoming increasingly deep and were expensive to drain with horse powered bucket and chain pumps and wooden piston pumps. Some mines used as many as 500 horses. Horse-powered pumps were replaced by the (1698) and the (1712). Industrial Revolution (1760-1830s) The revolution was driven by cheap energy in the form of , produced in ever-increasing amounts from the abundant resources of . The British is characterized by developments in the areas of textile machinery, , and the and the invention of s. }} Before invention of machinery to spin yarn and weave cloth, spinning was done using the spinning wheel and weaving was done on a hand and foot operated loom. It took from three to five spinners to supply one weaver. The invention of the in 1733 doubled the output of a weaver, creating a shortage of spinners. The for wool was invented in 1738. The , invented in 1764, was a machine that used multiple spinning wheels; however, it produced low quality thread. The patented by Richard Arkwright in 1767, produced a better quality thread than the spinning jenny. The , patented in 1779 by , produced a high quality thread. The was invented by Edmund Cartwright in 1787. In the mid 1750s the steam engine was applied to the water power-constrained iron, copper and lead industries for powering blast bellows. These industries were located near the mines, some of which were using steam engines for mine pumping. Steam engines were too powerful for leather bellows, so cast iron blowing cylinders were developed in 1768. Steam powered blast furnaces achieved higher temperatures, allowing the use of more lime in iron blast furnace feed. (Lime rich slag was not free-flowing at the previously used temperatures.) With a sufficient lime ratio, sulfur from coal or coke fuel reacts with the slag so that the sulfur does not contaminate the iron. Coal and coke were cheaper and more abundant fuel. As a result, iron production rose significantly during the last decades of the 18th century. Coal converted to fueled higher temperature s and produced in much larger amounts than before, allowing the creation of a range of structures such as . Cheap coal meant that industry was no longer constrained by water resources driving the mills, although it continued as a valuable source of power. The steam engine helped drain the mines, so more coal reserves could be accessed, and the output of coal increased. The development of the high-pressure steam engine made locomotives possible, and a transport revolution followed. The which had existed since the early 18th century, was practically applied to both and transportation. The , the first purpose built railway line, opened in 1830, the of being one of its first working used. Manufacture of ships' pulley by all-metal machines at the in 1803 instigated the age of sustained . used by engineers to manufacture parts began in the first decade of the century, notably by and . The development of through what is now called the began in the firearms industry at the U.S Federal arsenals in the early 19th century, and became widely used by the end of the century. Second Industrial Revolution (1860s–1914) The 19th century saw astonishing developments in transportation, construction, manufacturing and communication technologies originating in Europe. After a recession at the end of the 1830s and a general slowdown in major inventions, the was a period of rapid innovation and industrialization that began in the 1860s or around 1870 and lasted until . It included rapid development of chemical, electrical, petroleum, and steel technologies connected with highly structured technology research. developed into a practical technology in the 19th century to help run the railways safely. Along with the development of telegraphy was the patenting of the first . March 1876 marks the date that Alexander Graham Bell officially patented his version of an "electric telegraph". Although Bell is noted with the creation of the telephone, it is still debated about who actually developed the first working model. Building on improvements in vacuum pumps and materials research, s became practical for general use in the late 1870s. This invention had a profound effect on the workplace because factories could now have second and third shift workers. Shoe production was mechanized during the mid 19th century. Mass production of s and such as reapers occurred in the mid to late 19th century. Bicycles were mass-produced beginning in the 1880s. Steam-powered factories became widespread, although the conversion from water power to steam occurred in England earlier than in the U.S. s were found in battle starting in the 1860s, and played a role in the opening of Japan and China to trade with the West. 20th century assembly line was the first. }} brought s and other high-tech goods to masses of consumers. and development sped advances including electronic and s. and improved greatly and spread to larger populations of users, though near-universal access would not be possible until became affordable to residents in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Energy and engine technology improvements included , developed after the which heralded the new . development led to long range missiles and the first that lasted from the 1950s with the launch of Sputnik to the mid-1980s. spread rapidly in the 20th century. At the beginning of the century electric power was for the most part only available to wealthy people in a few major cities such as New York, London, Paris, and Newcastle upon Tyne, but by the time the was invented in 1990 an estimated 62 percent of homes worldwide had electric power, including about a third of households in the rural developing world. also became widespread during the 20th century. were very powerful by the late 1970s and genetic theory and knowledge were expanding, leading to developments in . The first " " was born in 1978, which led to the first successful pregnancy in 1985 and the first pregnancy by in 1991, which is the implanting of a single sperm into an egg. was first performed in late 1989 and led to successful births in July 1990. These procedures have become relatively common. The massive data analysis resources necessary for running transatlantic research programs such as the and the led to a necessity for distributed communications, causing Internet protocols to be more widely adopted by researchers and also creating a justification for to create the . spread rapidly to the developing world from the 1980s onward due to many successful humanitarian initiatives, greatly reducing childhood mortality in many poor countries with limited medical resources. The US , by expert vote, established the following ranking of the most important technological developments of the 20th century: # # # # and Distribution # # and # # s # # and # # # # # # # and technologies # and # # 21st century s have provided huge amounts of information by functioning well beyond NASA's original lifespan estimates.}} In the early 21st century research is ongoing into , (introduced 1990), (introduced 1981), (introduced 1985), / , , (e.g., graphene), the and (along with s and high-energy laser beams for military uses), , the , and green technologies such as s (e.g., , self-driving electric and plug-in hybrid cars), devices and , , and more efficient and powerful , , , devices, engines, and . Perhaps the greatest research tool built in the 21st century is the , the largest single machine ever built. The understanding of is expected to expand with better instruments including larger s such as the LHC and better s. is sought via underground detectors and observatories like have started to detect s. Genetic engineering technology continues to improve, and the importance of on development and inheritance has also become increasingly recognized. New technology and are also being developed, like the and . New, more capable , such as the , to be launched to orbit in early 2021, and the are being designed. The was completed in the 2000s, and and plan a in the 2030s. The (VASIMR) is an electro-magnetic thruster for spacecraft propulsion and is expected to be tested in 2015. , together with famed physicist , plan to send , which will consist of numerous super-light chips driven by in the 2030s, and receive images of the system, along with, possibly, the , by midcentury. 2004 saw the when crossed the on June 21, 2004. References Category:History of man